Research

My research sits at the intersection of environmental politics, migration studies, and science–society relations. I combine quantitative methods (panel surveys, natural experiments, remote sensing) with qualitative fieldwork to study how people respond to environmental change.

Research Interests

  • Environmental migration & (im)mobility — How do climate-related hazards (riverbank erosion, flooding, drought) shape migration decisions and adaptation strategies, particularly in climate-vulnerable contexts such as Bangladesh?
  • Climate change adaptation — What determines whether households and communities choose to stay, adapt in place, or move? When does staying become involuntary immobility?
  • Disaster risk communication — How does framing affect public perceptions of risk and support for climate adaptation policies?
  • Air quality & citizen science — How can monitoring urban air pollution increase demands for political action to reduce pollution?
  • Transformative & transdisciplinary science — The role of research in societal transformation; science–society collaboration; academic engagement beyond the ivory tower.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

  • 16. Rudolph, L., Hormuth, L., Freihardt, J., Koubi, V. (2026). Perceived deservingness shapes attitudes toward environmental migrants in rural Bangladesh. Communications Earth and Environment, 7, 247. DOI
  • 15. Fournier De Lauriere, C., Freihardt, J., Moolla, R., Bernauer, T. (2025). More research needed on people’s responses to air quality data. Environmental Research Letters, 20, 121007. DOI
  • 14. Freihardt, J. (2025). Trapped by climate change? (In)voluntary immobility in Bangladesh. Regional Environmental Change, 25, 117. DOI
  • 13. Abgottspon, E., Freihardt, J., Tkaczuk, J., Tilley, E. (2025). Willingness to pay for and economic feasibility of solid waste management in Cape Maclear, Malawi. Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances, 27, 200281. DOI
  • 12. Aggarwal, A., Freihardt, J. (2025). Safeguarding statehood: A policy framework for addressing climate-induced statelessness in Small Island Developing States. Migration Policy Practice, International Organization for Migration (UN IOM), Vol. XIV, 2. ISSN: 2223-5248.
  • 11. Thalheimer, L., Cottier, F., Kruczkiewicz, A. et al. (2025). Prioritizing involuntary immobility in climate policy and disaster planning. Nature Communications, 16, 2581. DOI
  • 10. Rudolph, L., Koubi, V., Freihardt, J. (2025). Environmental change and migration aspirations: Evidence from Bangladesh. Global Environmental Change, 91. DOI
  • 9. Freihardt, J. (2025). Environmental shocks and migration among a climate-vulnerable population in Bangladesh. Population and Environment, 47, 6. DOI
  • 8. Freihardt, J., Buntaine, M., Bernauer, T. (2024). Choosing to protect: Public support for flood defense over relocation in climate change adaptation. Environmental Research Letters, 19, 104012. DOI
  • 7. Rudolph, L., Koubi, V., Freihardt, J. (2024). COVID-19 vaccination uptake in remote areas — Evidence from a panel survey in Bangladesh. PLOS ONE, 19(8), e0305659. DOI
  • 6. Freihardt, J. (2024). Perceptions of environmental changes among a climate-vulnerable population from Bangladesh. Climatic Change, 177, 25. DOI
  • 5. Freihardt, J. & Buchs, R. (2023). Framing effects in disaster risk communication: the case of coastal erosion in the United States. Environmental Hazards, 23(3), 287–305. DOI
  • 4. Freihardt, J. & Frey, O. (2023). Assessing riverbank erosion in Bangladesh using time series of Sentinel-1 radar imagery in the Google Earth Engine. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 23, 751–770. DOI
  • 3. Pearce, B., Dallo, I., Choi, V., Freihardt, J., Middel, C. (2022). Forks in the Road: Identifying key processes in stakeholder interaction with critical design moments. GAIA: Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 31(4), 222–230. DOI
  • 2. Freihardt, J. (2020). Can Citizen Science using social media inform sanitation planning? Journal of Environmental Management, 259, 110053. DOI
  • 1. Freihardt, J., Jekel, M. and Ruhl, A.S. (2017). Comparing test methods for granular activated carbon for organic micropollutant elimination. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 5(3). DOI

Books

  • 2. Freihardt, J. (2024). Rivers of Change. A Story of Eroding Villages. vdf Hochschulverlag AG, Zürich. ISBN: 978-3-7281-4188-0. DOI
  • 1. Freihardt, J. (2021). Draußen ist es anders. Auf neuen Wegen zu einer Wissenschaft für den Wandel. oekom, München. ISBN: 978-3-96238-296-4. DOI

Book Chapters

  • 1. Kellhammer, M., Freihardt, J. (2025). Über das Ausgesetztsein in transformativen Forschungsumgebungen, oder: Und dann flogen die Eier. In: von Wirth, T., Vogel, T., Jansen, P. (eds.): Kompass für den Wandel. Mit transformativen Fähigkeiten die Welt von morgen gestalten, pp. 126–151. oekom, München. DOI

Documentary

  • Campert, A., Freihardt, J. (2024). Eroding Horizons. A Village on the Move. Watch on YouTube

Data & Software

  • Freihardt, J., Rudolph, L., Koubi, V. (2026). The Bangladesh Environmental Mobility Panel (BEMP): Panel data on (im)mobility, socio-economic, and political impacts of riverbank erosion and flooding in Bangladesh [Dataset]. Zenodo. DOI
  • Freihardt, J. (2026). BEMPdata: Access the Bangladesh Environmental Mobility Panel Dataset (Version 0.2.1) [R package]. CRAN. DOI · CRAN

Working Papers

  • Freihardt, J.: Micro-mobility. Moving away from environmental risk. under review (2025)
  • von Uexkull, N., Freihardt, J., Koubi, V.: Climate change impacts in Bangladesh – securitization, conflict and cooperation. under review (2022)
  • Freihardt, J., Rudolph, L., Koubi, V.: Data descriptor for Bangladesh panel dataset on environmental migration. under review (2025)
  • Freihardt, J.: Migration as adaptation or maladaptation in the context of environmental changes: Evidence from Bangladesh. work in progress (2025)
  • Fabry, A., Freihardt, J., Meemken, E.-M., Koubi, V.: Climate Change, Migration, and Mental Health in Bangladesh. work in progress (2024)
  • Benveniste, H., Freihardt, J., Koubi, V.: The role of remittances in shaping migration and life satisfaction. work in progress (2024)
  • Al-Maruf, A., Freihardt, J., Koubi, V.: The interplay of household resilience and the capability to stay in Bangladesh. work in progress (2024)
  • Aggarwal, A., Freihardt, J.: A gendered perspective on environmental migration in Bangladesh. work in progress (2024)
  • Freihardt, J., Koubi, V.: The effect of recurrent and concurrent climate events on migration: Evidence from Bangladesh. work in progress (2024)

Other Publications